Lucky Stars
by runespoor magic
Summary: The word responsible is not usually used in association with Gabriel Novak. The word adult is even less likely. In which Gabriel becomes the unwitting guardian of his younger brother, Castiel, and is quickly coming to regret all of the decisions that led him here. Human high school AU, slash Destiel, preslash Sabriel
1. Chapter 1

Notes: I posted this 3.13.16 but took it down because I didn't like the way it flowed. This is a repost. If you read it before you may want to read it again, sorry! Also, I realize now that I could've just updated the chapter, but I didnt think of that at the time, so sorry about that!

Warnings: angst, mentions of sex, drug abuse, alcohol abuse, drugging other people without permission

 **Lucky Stars**

The word responsible is not usually used in association with Gabriel Novak. The word adult is even less likely. And that's why he's confused when he realizes he is standing in the middle of a suburban house in a middle class neighborhood, and the only person old enough to be considered an adult in the entire structure is himself.

It's especially jarring when he realizes that only 20 hours ago he was lounging on a beach in the south of Florida consuming copious amounts of alcohol, but Gabriel is quick to connect the dots. He must have been drunk when he agreed to this.

The only other plausible reason is that he's gone absolutely bat shit crazy. Either that, or he had more than just alcohol on that beach, and is now subsequently hallucinating.

His little brother Castiel is standing in front of him, but he doesn't seem particularly fazed by this sudden turn of events. "You should call Michael and let him know you got here alright," Cas says, watching his brother placidly.

"Right," Gabriel says, because there's no other answer.

There is another long pause and then Castiel speaks again, the words coming out a little disjointed, like he really had to think about them. "Your old room isn't exactly habitable. But I think either Michael's or Lucifer's is up for grabs. Or at least, they still have beds."

"What about you?" The words come out on their own accord.

"Uh, basement," Cas says, and shifts his weight uncomfortably. "And trust me, you're not going want to come down there."

Gabriel almost asks why, but then he remembers, all of a sudden, that his little brother Castiel is something of a hippie. He's all about free love and welcoming people with open arms and legs. And if there are orgies going on in his basement, Gabriel really, really does not want to know.

"Right," he says again. "So, um, what happened to my room?"

Surprisingly enough, Castiel turns an interesting shade of red and stares determinedly somewhere to the left of Gabriel's face. "Please don't go in there either," he says.

Gabriel just nods. "Sure, kiddo," he sighs, because there's just nothing for it. "I'll uh, just get my stuff."

When he comes back with his bags, Castiel is gone, but the door to the basement is open and there's some kind of weird indie pop sound floating up the stairs. Gabriel just shrugs to himself and carries his things down to Lucifer's old room and resolves to leave Cas alone.

He's still feeling a little weird about being the only adult in the house, of having guardianship of his seventeen-year-old kid brother when he's only nineteen himself, but maybe no one really expects him to make responsible adult decisions.

He doesn't call Michael, because really, this is all Michael's fault anyways.

Gabriel's only been there a few days when a new family moves into the house next door. He's pretty sure that his new neighbors, the Winchesters, are primarily alcoholics, because when they take out the trash, its full of beer bottles. For half a second he almost feigns concern, but then he remembers the orgy that he's almost positive is going on in his basement at that very moment and he pauses to reevaluate his life.

It's not like he hasn't noticed the constant stream of teenagers to the basement over the last few days, and he really is concerned about where they're all coming from, but he's thinking that it would be better to keep this thing on a need to know basis. That way he doesn't have to lie through his teeth when Michael inevitably makes his call.

He supposes he does feel a little bit guilty, because Castiel is going to be a senior in high school and Michael seems to have formed the false impression that 'Gabriel' means 'responsible adult presence'. But Gabe assumes that Cas is as careful as he can be for someone with his lifestyle and Gabriel has never really been the nurturing type.

Anyways, he has his own dirty habits that need paying attention to.

From where he's standing, which is exactly the center of the kitchen, he can hear moans and whimpers and breathless laughter. The laughter is Castiel, and Gabriel grimaces to himself and inches sideways, because he doesn't want to know what his little brother sounds like during sex. He imagines that if he keeps moving in this direction, he'll eventually be too far away to hear it.

He shuffles to the other side of the house, then looks up sheepishly when he hears someone clear their throat on the opposite side of the screen door.

"Er," Gabriel stares at them for a moment. "Hey."

The woman at the door looks concerned and slightly suspicious, and Gabriel has to admit that it does look odd, what he's doing. But despite the fact that his life has been a constant stream of partying for the last year and a half doesn't mean he's prepared to hear his little brother's sex noises.

"Hello," she says.

It takes him a moment, but he soon realizes that standing behind her are her two teenage sons, and that these must be the alcoholic Winchesters from next door, since he doesn't recognize them at all.

"I need to register my boys for school, but I don't have the number," she continues.

"Er." Gabriel throws a glance backwards to the kitchen. It's been three years since he's stepped foot in a high school but he assumes they have a phone book around here somewhere. He's slightly confused about why a visit for a phone number requires the presence of one's sons, but then he remembers oh, adults, subtext, yes.

She wants to know if there's any teenagers around who will be going to school with her sons.

He wets his lips and tries to remember what they were talking about. "Um."

"Maybe your parents are home?" Mary asks.

Gabriel snaps to attention. " _Parents_?" he asks incredulously, then blinks. "I mean, no. No parents. It's just me and my brother."

"Man, how old are you?" the oldest boy blurts. He's squinting at Gabriel, and obviously hungover. Gabriel is hungover too, now that he thinks about it.

He frowns. He knows he's short, but he didn't think he was that short. For a second he considers lying, but then he remembers he has nothing to hide. "Nineteen."

The most obscene moan floats up the stairs and Gabriel almost chokes because really, that was Castiel again, and he shouldn't know that.

Gabriel retracts his previous statement. He has nothing to hide except that.

Somehow he keeps a straight face. The youngest brother peers out from behind the oldest, looking faintly curious. The oldest boy stands up straighter, interested.

Mary's lips thin and she shoots Gabriel a look.

Gabriel doesn't know what the woman wants him to do. Apologize that his younger brother is having a sex party downstairs? Really, it's so out of his control. Gabriel clears his throat. "Ah, anyways, you needed the phone number to the school?"

That's right," Mary says coldly.

"Right," Gabriel says. "Come on in."

He ducks out of the way as the three Winchesters file in, and takes a sweeping look around the kitchen. "Um."

Castiel takes that moment to trudge up the stairs, and Gabriel thanks his lucky stars that Cas had the forethought to pull on some clothes. Granted, its only boxers and a thin t-shirt, but he's made appearances in less.

Castiel doesn't even look at the Winchesters, which is probably for the better because he smells like sex and weed and his pupils are completely blown out and his mouth is red.

"I'm hungry," he announces, dropping into a seat at the kitchen table.

"I'll order takeout?" Gabriel asks weakly, because that at least is something he can do.

Castiel wipes his mouth on his hand and looks up at him, seeming faintly troubled. "Can we have root beer floats?"

Gabriel nods quickly, because yes, sugar, sugar is good. "Sure, yeah. Uh, phonebook. Where is it?"

Cas huffs a little and lurches out of his seat. As he starts rummaging through the cupboards, Gabriel turns back to their guests. "Um, I'm Gabriel. That's my brother Cas."

Mary hurriedly introduces them and Gabe can tell she's dying to leave.

The youngest Winchester, Sam, who is actually about fourteen, speaks up. "What were you _doing_?" he asks Castiel.

Castiel climbs off of the counter and tosses the phonebook in Gabriel's general direction. "Yoga," he says calmly, with a tilt to his lips that is probably a smile, and Gabriel is a little giddy inside because for all of Cas's emphasis on love, he doesn't smile often.

"Yoga," he says, with a strangled little laugh, because really, what? "Is that what the kids are calling it these days?"

Castiel zeros in on him. "You're welcome to join us," he says seriously, but his eyes are crinkled, so Gabriel can tell that he's joking.

He chokes anyways.

So does Mary.

The oldest boy, Dean, snorts a laugh, and Cas smiles again. It makes him look younger. Lighter. "Root beer floats and Chinese food, from the good place," he orders. "And don't eat my sweet and sour chicken this time."

With that, Castiel snags several bottle of water off of the counter and disappears down the stairs. Gabriel offers Mary the phone book a little helplessly. "You could bring it back tomorrow," he suggests.

"Thank you," she says, looking uncomfortable. When she walks out the door, her sons linger.

"Is there any way I could get in on that?" Dean asks, looking slightly more awake.

"The um, yoga?" At Dean's nod, Gabriel pauses. "Um." He doesn't really want to be known as an enabler, but he assumes that Cas would share his knowledge on safe sex, and keep his drugs out of the house on the chance that Michael will drop by unexpectedly. "This is a pretty regular occurrence so just uh, feel free to drop by."

"Cool," Dean says. "Thanks man." He looks rather pleased, and Gabriel wants to die.

He turns to Sam. "Anything I can do for you, kiddo?" he asks, because he's already going to hell.

Sam blinks at him. "Can I get back to you on that?" he asks.

Gabriel swipes a hand tiredly over his face. Really, this adult business takes a lot out of him, but if making dangerous promises is what makes teenagers smile, he supposes he could use the practice. For Cas's sake. "Sure thing," he sighs.

After that, the neighborhood buzzes every time he leaves the house, and Gabriel isn't sure if it's because of the Winchesters or not. He resolves to spend more time inside, brainstorming ways to sound proof the basement, and how to get Castiel to smile more.

He does not see much more of the Winchesters, and if Dean ever drops by, then Gabriel misses it. Who he does see, however, are his older brothers. They show up together on the Fourth of July, entirely unannounced and bearing gifts in the form of take out, which is the only thing Gabriel and Cas have eaten in the entire 2 and a half weeks since his arrival.

The unfortunate part of their appearance is that Cas is standing in the middle of the kitchen in absolutely nothing and that Gabriel is decidedly too tipsy for it being only one in the afternoon.

"Gabriel," Michael says gravely and Gabriel almost falls over. "Castiel."

Cas is much more composed. He merely glances at them both and then pries the food out of their hands. "I'll be downstairs," he says, turning on his heel.

Lucifer snorts. "Well. You've certainly done a bang up job raising him," he says.

"Shuddup," Gabriel mumbles, leaning against the counter so as to keep his balance. "Like to see you do any better."

He hopes they don't plan on staying very long, if only to spare him the amused looks from Lucifer and Michael's stern, disappointed gaze.

By the end of the night, Gabriel is settled on the couch, curled into Lucifer's side and drifting. He knows they're talking about him, can tell by the inflections of their voices and the way they keep glancing down at him, but he can't bring himself to actually care.

That's why he's startled when Michael suddenly reaches over and touches his hair, and says something that looks like an apology but that he doesn't quite hear.

"What the hell did you put in my drink?" he mumbles, and he watches Lucifer's face flicker with surprise and then smooth out into an absent smile.

"How did you know?"

"Fuck you, I always know," Gabriel manages to get out, and Lucifer laughs and stretches out on the couch like a cat.

"Nothing deadly," he says.

The very idea should terrify him, but he remembers being in high school and passing out because his older brother had been slipping him sleeping medication when Gabriel asked him to, and while this feeling is distinctly different, partly because Gabe didn't ask, it's kind of the same thing.

Distantly, he sees Michael's face flash with anger. Sees him shake Lucifer's arm and yell, but he doesn't exactly understand what's going on until Castiel emerges in sweatpants and a wrinkled t-shirt.

He drops down onto the couch in between Michael and Gabriel and tugs Gabe away from Lucifer. Cas shifts around and tugs at Gabriel until they're settled comfortably, Gabriel's head on Cas's stomach and his feet in Lucifer's lap.

"Are you scared?" he whispers into Gabe's hair.

Gabriel doesn't really think he is, but he notices that Castiel's body language is oddly protective and hunched over Gabriel like he can shield him with his body.

"Fucking confused," Gabriel says. He's a little worried too, because Michael is still yelling at Lucifer and Lucifer's mouth is curled into a lazy smirk. "He used to give me sleeping medication," he tells Cas, but only because their older brothers aren't paying any attention.

"I know," Cas says.

"I can't remember what the hell for."

And he watches Castiel's expression tighten.

"You asked him to."

Gabriel swipes a hand over his face and tries to concentrate on what Cas is saying. "I know," he sighs. "I just meant, what for?"

And yeah, that's what he was thinking earlier, about dealing with his own dirty habits.

He sighs and waves an arm around, effectively gathering Michael's attention. "Hey, Mikes. Mikey. Quit yelling, bro. Its fine."

Cas's head drops slightly and he sighs into Gabriel's hair. "You're crazy," he says. There's a kind of desperate affection in his voice and his eyes are red rimmed and the hand digging into Gabriel's shoulder is shaking. He looks bad, really upset, and Gabriel tries not to feel completely wretched.

"Just fucking go to sleep, Cassie," he says, and looks away from all three of them.


	2. Chapter 2

Notes: This chapter has been rewritten since 3.13.16. Please review! I'd love to know what you think? Are you tired of Gabriel? Do you want to hear something from Dean or Cas or Sam? And thanks for the follows, ya'll are great. And special thanks to MT, who reviewed on the last chapter before I took the story down!

Warnings: discussions of sex, mentions of past dub con

 **Lucky Stars**

Gabriel feels kind of like somebody's mom as he lies on a lawn chair in the middle of his front yard, but Castiel is making a racket in the house with hip hop music. The air inside is stifling because Cas is slaving over the stove making something that looks like lasagna but probably isn't. He can distinctly hear the smoke alarm going off but he can still hear Castiel flapping around through the screen door, so he assumes the kid will live.

It's been a two weeks since the ill-fated Fourth of July, and so far Michael has called more times that what Gabriel has the patience for.

The sex parties in the basement have come to a rather abrupt halt, and Gabriel thinks this has something to do with Michael turning up unexpectedly throughout the week and walking in on Cas in various sexual situations.

To his credit, Castiel acted supremely disaffected by the interruptions, but after that Michael froze his checking account, and so the drugs stopped too.

Thus the half assed attempt at cooking to alleviate some of the boredom.

He's a little taken a back when Sam Winchester suddenly looms over him, a look of abject terror on his young teenage face. "Is your house on fire?" he blurts.

Gabriel sits up and glances over his shoulder. He can see Cas's outline rather clearly and he looks fine as far as Gabe can tell. "Nah," he says, turning back to Sam. "The house is fine, kiddo."

"The fire alarm is going off," Sam insists.

"My brother is cooking," Gabe says, like that explains everything, and to him, it does.

Sam's look of concern lessens some, but he lingers anxiously. "We moved here because our house burnt down," Sam tells him, eyes still locked over Gabriel's shoulder.

He thinks about giving the kid a hug, but he can see Mary Winchester out of the corner of his eye and he doesn't to face any mom wrath. He's sure she already thinks he has a sex dungeon in his basement. He leans back in his lawn chair and doesn't say anything.

After a minute, Sam heads back to his own house to tell his mother, "No, its fine, its not on fire," and Gabriel frowns to himself.

He doesn't remember being that naïve at fourteen and he worries, briefly, because he has a feeling that the kid is going to suffer some major culture shock when he starts high school.

"Cassie," Gabriel says when he walks back inside. "Can you keep an eye out for Sam Winchester at school?"

Castiel glances over at him, brow furrowed, and Gabriel wants to laugh, because his brother is wearing a ridiculously frilly apron and some fuchsia oven mitts that he didn't know they owned, but the question is important so he keeps his mouth clamped shut.

Cas nods once, looking only a little curious, and Gabe grins in relief.

So maybe Castiel's sphere of influence isn't the best place for Sam to fall, but better him than someone unkind, or no one at all. And Gabriel doesn't think that Cas is the kind of person to take advantage of someone's ignorance.

It's a few days later when Sam turns up again, looking pensive and thoughtful.

"Er," Gabriel stares at Sam. He's thankful that Castiel is passed out on the couch with the television on, and not downstairs doing unspeakable things in the name of free love. "Did you, uh, need something, kiddo?"

Sam chews his lip. "Yeah," he says, but doesn't elaborate.

Gabriel stares at him, anxiety pooling in his stomach. "Want a soda?" he asks, and the kid's eyes light up like Christmas.

"Really?" he asks.

"Er, yeah," Gabe says blankly. He opens the refrigerator. "What kind do you want?"

"What kind do you have?" Sam sounds equal parts astonished and impressed and Gabriel is quickly drawing the conclusion that the youngest Winchester is more sheltered than he initially assumed.

"Welcome to the den of iniquity," Gabriel says gravely. "We have Cherry Cola and Mountain Dew. It would seem we also have an unsavory mixture of rum and coke, but alas, I believe you are too young to join your brother and father in alcoholism."

Sam stares at him. "Um, what?"

There is a rustle of movement behind them and then Castiel emerges from the living room. "Just ignore him," he croaks, rubbing sleep from his eyes. "Try the Mountain Dew."

"Cassie," Gabe says as pleasantly as he can.

It earns him a smile, the one that Gabriel has quickly learned to identify as is the real thing. It's slow and shy and it makes Gabriel want to hug the snot out of him. Castiel hums a little absently, reaching around Gabriel and practically groping his ass in a single minded search for cigarettes. Gabriel grimaces. Cas has no concept of personal space.

As Castiel steps away to tug a cigarette out of the packaging, Gabe huffs, "What are you trying to do, put yourself in an early grave?"

Cas's forehead creases. "I am not suicidal." He turns to Sam. "Is your brother around?"

"Yeah," Sam says, a little anxiously. "He's out washing the car."

"Cool, thanks," Cas mumbles. "I'll be home later, okay?" He doesn't hug Gabriel, so Gabe hugs him, snatching him up quickly. Castiel swats at his shoulder and pulls away, but the smile is back so Gabe lets it go.

For a second Gabriel almost forgets about Sam standing in front of him, because it's so rare for Cas to actually, voluntarily walk outside and so he needs a moment to appreciate it before its gone. Then he feels the cold air seeping out of the refrigerator and he snaps back into action.

"Here," he says, holding out a can of soda.

Sam takes it, looking a little apprehensive, and so Gabriel grabs a can of soda for himself as well and plops down at the kitchen table. Sam sits down after him, a little wobbly.

Gabriel isn't sure if he should charge ahead and say something, or if he ought to keep quiet. He spends a few moments in silence, lamenting his adulthood. He remembers being in high school with Lucifer and Michael at Sam's age and trying out all his best pranks on them.

Now there's no one around to play pranks on but Cassie, and he's not sure his brother is in the right state of mind for that kind of shit. He sips his soda and peers at Sam.

Abruptly, he realizes that the kid is wearing a look like the one he wore earlier, fascinated and impressed, only this time its directed towards him.

"I wanted to take you up on that offer." He hesitates. "You know, since you asked if there was anything you could do for me?"

Gabriel suddenly regrets his offer. "Okay," he says, waiting.

Sam takes a deep breath. "What was your brother really doing downstairs the other day?" His cheeks are a little pink.

"Um." Gabriel's mouth moves, but no sound comes out. He takes a moment, clears his throat. "Can't you ask your brother?" he more or less squeaks.

"I did," Sam tells him. "He just laughed at me."

"He was having sex." Gabriel is sure that his face is probably as red as Sam's, but he's not sure if it's because he's being forced to talk about his brother's sexual habits, or because he's being forced to talk about sex at all.

Sam's eyebrows shoot up, like the thought hadn't even occurred to him. "How?" he asks.

Gabriel's soda shoots out of his nose. " _How_?" he repeats. "What do you mean, _how?"_

"I thought sex was for married people." Sam sounds so honestly confused for a moment that Gabriel actually worries about just what high school is going to be like for him. Dear lord in heaven, Gabe needs an actual adult.

Gabriel's not sure when he started looking like the kind of adult that you could ask about sex and feel safe about it. He's freaked out. So freaked out. So he does what anyone would do in this situation.

"Hang on. Hang on just one second."

Gabriel picks up the phone (reluctantly) and calls his big brother.

He's thankful when Michael picks up almost immediately. "Gabriel," he says. The traces of disappointment and anger from his last visit have smoothed out of his voice and he almost sounds pleased.

"Hey Mike," he squeaks. "I need some advice, bro."

There's a shuffle and a creak that he recognizes as Michael leaning back in his chair. "Go on," he says, with no inflection in his voice other than dangerously pleasant.

"What would you say if you had to give a kid the sex talk?" the words come out more rushed then he intended.

"I take it you aren't talking about Castiel."

"Nope," Gabriel says, popping the p. "The neighbor kid. I think Cassie's got that pretty much figured out."

"Yes," the disappointment is there in the voice again, but Gabriel ignores it. "What did Father say to you when you were that age?"

"Er, he didn't. Luci did. And by that I mean he tossed me some condoms, set me up with some porn, smacked me upside the head and told me to be careful."

There is a slight pause, and Gabriel can tell that whatever he just said has somehow pissed Michael off to no end. He probably shouldn't have said that. "Gabriel," he says, and he sounds dangerously pleasant and deliberately casual, and those are not a good combination. "Are you telling me that your knowledge about sex, outside of personal experience, has solely come from Lucifer and porn?"

At this point, Gabe is regretting every decision that has led him to this place, and he considers hopping into his car and going back to the nice beach he was on when he got the fateful phone call from Lucifer telling him to come home. "Yes," Gabe says, hopping to gloss over it. "But that's –"

"Gabriel…"

"Please, I don't want to talk about my sex life with you."

Michael sighs noisily, and Gabriel has the worst feeling that Lucifer is going to be receiving a dangerous phone call in a few minutes. "I think the most important thing is not to tell him the logistics of sex. You should tell him about consent, and safe practical behavior."

Gabriel blinks, because the words sound foreign somehow. A terrible feeling twists his stomach, and for a second, he's just not sure of himself, because the word consent and his own sexual experience have not always walked hand in hand.

His usual partners have never seemed to care very much about Gabriel's consent. The idea is enough to unsettle him.

He glances at Sam, who is watching him with large, over-curious eyes.

"Okay," he says slowly. "Well maybe you could just give me a brief run-down of what uh, consent entails, exactly." It's not like Gabriel doesn't understand the word consent. He does. But he's never thought about in relation to himself.

"Gabriel." Michael's voice has lowered, and there is a note of worry in his voice that makes Gabriel cringe.

"Or not," he says quickly. "Thanks Mike." And Gabriel hangs up before his brother can get another word in.

He slides the phone away from him and claps his hands together, facing Sam. "Alright, kiddo. So first things first, that's a very religious idea that you've got there. You religious?"

Sam nods cautiously.

"Right," Gabe says. "Nothing wrong with that. If you wanna wait until marriage, then go for it." He hopes that means the conversation is over.

"You mean I don't have to?" Sam asks, looking incredulous.

Of course it's not over.

"No?" Gabe tries, but Sam still looks shocked.

"I mean, you can, if that's what you believe, but if you don't then, uh, you don't have to. Just uh, consenting partners and use protection and all that stuff. Okay?"

Sam looks a little lost, but he nods his head anyways. "Protection?" he asks.

"Um," Gabriel looks around the kitchen anxiously. "So you don't end up with babies. Or herpes." Sam opens his mouth with another question, but Gabriel continues before he can ask. "I think you can ask your brother about that one, kiddo."

Sam doesn't argue, and Gabe is thankful for small mercies. The kid hangs around long enough to finish his soda, thanks Gabe with a reverence that he's not used to hearing, and then goes back outside.

Gabriel stays at the table and tries not to think.

 **LS**

Castiel is an enigma, and an alarming one at that. When he walks around the neighborhood, he looks like a terror, in t-shirts with trippy designs, cutoffs, and messy sex hair. He doesn't say much, just offers sharp little smiles that, to Dean, are noisier than words. And it's not just Castiel who is weirdly terrifying. Gabriel Novak is a sight to behold as well.

Gabriel is short in stature and seems relatively good natured, but for all that his eyes crinkle when he smiles, it's an unhinged and bitter look. When his eyes follow Cas around, they seem worried to the point of hysteria, but if that's always the case, he hides it well.

So both of the Novak's are a bit scary, but that's nothing on the way that Sammy looks ever time Gabriel makes a rare appearance. He stops whatever he's doing to purse his lips and stare thoughtfully, and if Dean didn't know better, he'd say his brother had a crush.

Dean's talked to people around his neighborhood, teenagers and their mothers and the like. And he knows its nosy, but he's can't help being curious about Castiel and Gabriel's unconventional little house hold. They each have a string of words behind their names that should give Dean some insight, but instead leave him feeling a little angry.

His neighbors tell him, with thinly veiled disdain, that Gabriel is a high school dropout, that he's useless, irresponsible, that they don't want him around their kids. Its cruel, but it doesn't bother Dean as much as what he hears about Cas, and he's not sure if he wants to admit to himself why that is.

The teens call Castiel easy. A slut. A hippie, a druggy. Kinky. Weird. And maybe the sex party in the basement is what initially attracted Dean, but he knows it isn't right to sexualize Cas, to shame him for his lifestyle when Dean doesn't exactly have it all figured out either.

He thinks that's why he hasn't made it over to Cas's house yet.

When he looks up from dumping out the dirty water and turning off the hose, Castiel is staring at him. He looks calmer than usual, and his blue eyes are intense. They follow him around the yard, so Dean stops what he's doing and waits. He doesn't know how long Cas has been standing there, but there's a thin sheen of sweat on his forehead.

Cas pushes away from the tree he's leaning against and walks over.

"What's up, man?" Dean asks. His voice cracks at the end but Castiel doesn't seem to notice.

His smile isn't the sharp little thing that Dean has grown accustomed to, but tentative and shy. It spreads across his face slowly. His cheeks are a dusty pink, but Dean isn't sure if the other boy is blushing, or if it's just a product of the sun.

"You're gonna be a senior this year, aren't you?" Cas asks, not quite looking at his face.

Dean shifts away from him, tilts his head to get a better look. "Yeah. You?"

Castiel hesitates and then nods, and he doesn't look anything like the boy from a few weeks ago, with wet red lips sitting at the kitchen table and reeking of sex. He looks anxious, and the longer he stares at Dean in silence, the redder his face turns.

After a moment, Dean seems to realize that Cas isn't going to say anything else. He leans against the now shining Impala and Cas's eyes track his movements nervously. He starts to open his mouth, but then Sammy is stepping out of Castiel's house and jogging over to him and Cas is gone when he looks up.


End file.
